Pod light prices WTF

Something to consider is not just light function but having them sealed and working in inclement weather. Sure you may only use your lights from time to time but what happens when they fog or have condensation on the inside? Doesn’t matter at that point.

I personally run KC because they have never failed me and are backed by a 23 year warranty. That said I have KC Daylighters and Fogs on my YJ from 2008 (12 years ago) that have yet to fail, fog up or have condensation.

 

Whaaaat

 

Bought 29$ yellow leds for rock lights. Ran the wires so well and did a clean install.... lights were full of water 1st trip. Had to do the job twice and cry twice.

Buy once Cry Once. I'm all Rigid now.

 

Good quality parts for a vehicle are always worth the money (IMO). Sometimes the quality is buying oem instead of aftermarket, but in the case of lights there are plenty of good aftermarket solutions.

I run mostly Rigid lights as well as Baja Designs and KCs. I also ran a cheap Amazon lightbar for about a year and a half. Over the course of the year, the cheap light bar's powder coat faded and the lens fogged and yellowed. Standing that up to the Rigids, Bajas and KCs, it's a night and day difference in everything. Output was so bad on the cheap lightbar that I just ended up taking it off the truck. It was just a cheap, pretty useless thing sitting in my front bumper taking up usable space. Also once you take something like this off it's pretty much of no value if you want to resell, versus a Rigid light or Baja Designs.

It really is a 'have to see the difference in person to believe it' type thing with lighting. There's a ton of work that goes into US made lights or lights that are made well by hand. The tech, support, longevity and general look is far better and therefore more expensive.

Honestly it comes down to what you want and your budget. There are many other things that I think should come before aftermarket auxiliary lighting on a truck, but that's based on intended use of the vehicle. If you plan on driving it in conditions where you really NEED aux lighting I would want that lighting to be the best, most reliable option out there. Period.

 

I'm thinking these

$127 Cali Raised LED 27W Side Projecting LED Pods (Sold As Pair)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DVSVR...olid=16L8QRNP52I6P&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

For double the price you can get a set of BD S1’s or S2’s that will blow those things out of the water in quality or output. If you’re going to go cheap then go really cheap.

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

WTF do I know, rookie that just started looking into lights, thanks for the info, I will go down that road, reviews looked good, at the same time I don't want crap!!!! Thanks!!

 

There is more to light than lumens. 2 shitty knock off chinese lights with aren't going to produce the same (usable) light as a name brand light with twice the lumens. Beam patterns from optics and reflectors do matter, and higher end companies know what they are doing. They may sound close on paper and look bright in your garage, but when you see a knock off next to a baja or rigid out in the desert in the middle of the night, it's pretty obviously worse. You also only have so many spots you can put lights, so I'm not sure the "buy more lights" argument holds water.

There's more than a couple people here on TW that have had electrical problems slapping random lights in. High end lights most likely have built in circuit protection to not run extra voltage in to your DRLs and cost you more than any of the lights we're talking about. If rigid's, KC, etc do bork you're electrical, you have someone to talk to about it, good luck getting china to help you out.

 

You guys might find this post interesting, aux beam combo bar vs old Rigid combo bar, see post #23, specifically the output intensity.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/light-bar-recommendations-ideas.469929/page-2#post-22222089

There is a reason the name brands cost more.

 

but muh Amazon/ebay bar says it’s 40k l00mEnZ.


Baja Designs gets my money, fwiw.

 

If I bought offroad pod lights tonight it would be Baja Designs squadrons. I'll probably get them eventually but they haven't made the short list yet.

 

Fore real though, that's probably how they spell lumens on the product page.

 

Second battery for compressor and I'm an electrician so wiring should be okay.
However, I will do more research on output because yes, ideally I would run the least amount of lights possible with a maximum light output.

 

Baha Design and Oshram. Like them Own them. Haven't let me down.